In 2011, Kobe Bryant announced the formation of the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps youth and families in need.

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — We spend an inordinate amount of time during this part of the offseason detailing things like what sort of workouts a player is going through and where they’re vacationing.

What doesn’t garner as many headlines is the work they do off the court: conducting free camps for kids, donating their time and money to charitable causes and getting outside of their comfort zone every now and then to use their stature as some of the world’s most recognizable face to a worthy cause.

While Bryant was there he met a 58-year-old man, who has been in and out of the mission for the past year.

“He was extremely articulate and he had a great life and he made a poor choice and ended up on the streets,” Bryant said. “He came to the L.A. Mission weighing 135 pounds and now he’s healthy and his weight is back up. He’s 58 but he’s in better shape than I am. … You get to hear their stories and you get to find out first-hand what’s going on.

“This issue gets pushed into the backburner because it’s easy to put the blame on those that are homeless and say you made that bad decision and that’s the reason why you are where you are and it’s your fault. We all make mistakes and to just sit back and watch this and to wash your hands of it by saying that’s your fault, that’s not right and it’s not fair.”

On Wednesday Kobe and Vanessa Bryant arrived at My Friend’s Place, a drop-in center for homeless youth in Hollywood, which annually serves about 1,700 individuals between the ages of 12 and 25. They were there to announce the completion of the center’s renovation, which was funded by the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation.

“This isn’t a popular topic or a popular issue,” Bryant said. “It’s one where you have to get your hands dirty a little bit. It’s not something celebrities easily rally around but this is something that we wanted to change. This something we’re all going to have to fight, it’s going to be a long fight but I’m in it for the long haul.”

Bryant recalls seeing homeless people walking the streets outside the Forum at the beginning of his career and more recently at the Staples Center. He admits the epidemic became like white noise for him before he heard chilling statistics about homelessness in Los Angeles last year. According to a 2011 report from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there are 51,340 homeless people in Los Angeles County on a given day.

“It puts things into perspective,” Bryant said. “At the end of the day there’s only so many interviews you can do and stories you can write. You have to do something that carries more weight and has more significance and purpose to it.

“My career is winding down and at the end of it, I want to look back and said I had a successful career because I won so many championships and scored so many points. There’s something else you have to do with that.”

For all the debates we have around here about Kobe, his place in the game’s history, whether he’s still got it and whether he ranks on par (or beneath) Michael Jordan, this is one time when we can suspend the drama and applaud a player for being a human being first.

Love him or loathe him as a player, I dare even his biggest critics to object to anything he’s doing with My Friend’s Place. This is the sort of work fans of every team want to see their star players doing away from the game, using their considerable resources and influence to improve the lives of others who are maybe not as fortunate.

63 Comments

That’s great Kobe,now let’s see if you can be unselfish on the court this year!Remember when
Magic gave money back from his contract so the lakers could sign Bob McAdoo and Terry Tyler?Kobe let Shannon Brown,Trevor Ariza walk out the door without a fuss.I hope the laker’s amnesty him after this season to get some quality young guys to put around Dwight!

I appreciate Kobe and Vanessa reaching out to the community. I’ve actually visited My Friends Place and they truly do need the help. This serves as a reminder to all of us whether we are billionaires, millionaires or even earning minimum wage, we can all reach out and lend help and give back, even if it’s just our time. While I applaud their role model behavior, not coz of their $s, but because it’s the right thing to do–and no amount of money should dictate our support, yet I say thank you to K&V. I hope Kobe makes my 60th birthday celebration 🙂

Aa a black man, i have never been so pround to see Kobe do this. I am tired of these brothers who grew up in the inner city spend millions of dollars on cars and big mansions when people are going to bed hungry and dying because they cant afford the basic stuffs to get by. I salute you Mr Bryant, God will greatly reward you.

I belive Kobe is not only a great basketball player but a caring individual. He kows his fans are everywhere and are from every walk of life. So he deserves cheers for being a part of such a good deed for the unfortunate. Kobe way to go and much love from Houston……

Personally, I don’t think this is a publicity stunt in any way. It isn’t even part of NBA Cares as far as I know. He is donating his own money to help these people who less fortunate than most of us are. There are probably more homeless people now because of the recession. I commend Kobe for even thinking of starting a foundation for these families. Unless you have seen the problem first hand it is kind of hard to imagine what it is like to go what they are going through everyday. I think Kobe and Gasol are doing there philanthropic deeds out of the goodness of their own heart. People can say what ever they want but if you continually see these high profile people giving back all the time, I have to commend it.

back to the departure of Shaq, gave LA kids gifts before going to miami…..kobe your good a baller
and the 1, 2, punch 3peat record cant be beat…. make the Diesel jersey retirerment unforgetable…….
give the big hackashaq Love….! california (ia)* howard,nash,kobe

I think Kobe is finally finding balance in his life between what he does publicly and what he does privately. This is an example of ‘Paying it Forward’ and I think a lot of people will be impressed that he also realises everyone needs a little help now and then, even the homeless.

Agree with one of the statements that other basketball players also do this and you don’t to hear about it. The important point is at least he is taking decisive action to try to fix something that quite frankly successive governments have failed to tackle and if everybody took a stand to try and help the homeless then maybe homelessness will become a thing of the past.

God bless to all the basketball players who are trying to do their bit, not just Kobe.

True measure of a man is not what he had accomplished for himself but what himself accomplished for others. Good stuff Kobe. Since day 1 my dude i have been ur No.1 fan. lol since i was an 8th grader when u first got drafted to the NBA! damn i feel old…haha again…good good good stuff and keep it up.

Kobe is a Turk lover. He doesn’t care. nly does what his agent tells him. If he cared, he would not support a country that commited the first genocide of the 20th century and denied it ever since even when the world agreed that they committed genocide.

Kobe you so great as a player ofc but as a person u are doing way way way more than anyone needs to. you are the True champ!
ps i dun see those 3 clowns from the South beach doing this. they call themselves champs???? they are just a bunch of chimpanzees to me. all they do it is stack with young talents. sigh. the younger generation is hopeless…..

ppps: kobe keeping doing ur great work! on and off the court u are the best player in the nba history.

Kobe is a great person and a player! he does things that others didnt! He just Love his game and a great thing is that the GAME he played LOVE him! not just like Scalabrine HE love BASKETBALL but BSKETBALL doesnt LOVE HIM

This is what all top proffesional athlete’s should do. I’ve been an LA LAKERS fan before Kobe came and I respect this kind of help from anyone but unfortunately it gives a bigger scope if a athlete or someone from the entertainment world decide to get their hands dirty as Mr. Kobe said. I hope all top athletes and entertainers get truly involve here in NYC ESPECIALLY IN THE BX as well in other truly poor neighborhood.

This doesn’t surprise me at all. Kobe is a great person and a player. He is doing off the court what he does on it. Hats off to the Black Mamba. Hey homelessness in LA! You are in big trouble, because Kobe is “in it for the long haul”!

Why are any of you impressed? I am not hating on Kobe this is a great thing he is doing, but you guys act like he find a cure for cancer. This is what your suppose to do. CP3 did it and no one really said oh Chris you care about the world. Kobe did a good thing but don’t act like any other nba player isn’t giving back to the community.

I salute you Kobe for this one! That’s the right thing to do to share also those blessings that you have and to help those needy people. The BLACK MAMBA Strike Again! But this time is a Humanitarian move, Will be good if you can imfluence some of your teamates to do the same what you are doing and to make Los Angeles as the City of the West Coast. Congrat’s KOBE!

The greatest legacy that God loves is for us (human) to help others win in life. Thank you Kobe & your family for the gesture to the needy people.Bien Trabaho!!!!! May God bless you for the good work.Best of luck in the upcoming season, beat those teams up……Merci.

Hey G, whatever it is you are dealing with, please dont look the route of suicide. I pray that whatever wounds, physical, emotional or spiritual you are dealing with will be healed. There is so much to life, and I hope that you receive the joy that fills the heart when you allow God into your life. Pls reply this if you can.

In the end, it won’t matter how many awards you garnered, how many trophies you have, how many cars and homes you owned, what will matter is did you bless someone less fortunate, did you feed those who were hungry, clothe those who were naked, provide shelter to those who had none. These are the only things that will count!

This is the one side of Kobe that even his haters cannot debate on. All those basketball greats like Kareem, Oscar, Magic and even Michael you never get to see them doing things like this. But Kobe is a real person and for those who love him like me and my kids, these acts only galvanize the he is worth emulating and be looked upon even after his career is over.

Way the go Kobe. This is why Manila gives you much love from thousands of miles away.

Two things 1.) Back then the media didn’t care about a player being a philanthropist. 2.) The NBA over the years has made it part of their business to have players more involved in the community.
Bryant isn’t the only one doing these things you know, but I do applaud him for his contribution.

That’s why I like Kobe. He is a true Champion on and off the court. He is always trying to fix things. He’s been criticized regarding his professional life—-he fixed it. He has been criticized regarding his personal life—-he fixed it. people need help—-he’s fixing it.
Kobe you are a true HERO—-keep up the good work

I know that there was a good reason why Kobe Bryant is my favorite player, he has a big, caring heart and he shows that not only on the court, but in his community by the conscious choices he makes to help those who are in need. Big Up to you, Kobe.